The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910) is the earliest surviving film version of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel, made by the Selig Polyscope Company without Baum's direct input. It was created to fulfill a contractual obligation associated with Baum's personal bankruptcy caused by The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays, from which it was once thought to have been derived. It was partly based on the 1902 stage musical, though much of the film deals with the Wicked Witch of the West, who does not appear in the musical.


This movie is part of the collection: The Video Cellar Collection

Director: Otis Turner
Producer: William Selig
Production Company: Selig Polyscope Company
Audio/Visual: Silent, Black and White
Keywords: Wizard of Oz; 1910; L Frank Baum; Silent
Contact Information: http://video-cellar.blogspot.com/

Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0

Individual Files

Write a review
Downloaded 64,964 times Reviews
Average Rating:

Reviewer: rclo - - June 20, 2011
Subject: Silent better than sound
The story is so familiar to everyone that even this version is no too difficult to follow. The most fascinating character is the trippy lion. I found myself watching him in every scene in which he appeared.

The totally silent version is much clearer than the soundtrack version.

Worth watching.

Reviewer: bobdylansdead - - January 26, 2011
Subject: What???
Is it just me or is this the most terrifying interpretations of L. Frank Baum's book ever?

The faces on the trees were certainly eerie, but I think the scariest part was how the animal characters were only halfway anthropomorphised and the costumes they were wearing were also pretty creepy.

I realize this was done in 1910, and actually, I thoroughly enjoyed this version of the story.

Reviewer: babe917 - - January 12, 2010
Subject: cute classic :)
ive seen a few other silent OZ movies but not this 1! i liked it alot, it was a cute short!

oh btw the scene with the faces on the trees were eerie lol ! but cool don't get me wrong :)

Reviewer: nigeldavahah - - January 11, 2010
Subject: nice;)
nice;) OZ everyone has on pointed hats LOL

Reviewer: Onimusha - - August 30, 2008
Subject: Excellent early Oz
It may be a little fuzzy around the edges but I thought it was excellent. I will be watching it again soon.

Reviewer: Classic_TV_and_Radio_Fan - - August 27, 2008
Subject: Primitive but Charming
Ok, so nobody will mistake this for being a "silent classic", and it seems unlikely that anyone would call it the best version of the story, but this is still a fairly entertaining and charming silent short, produced in 1910. The special effects are good for the time, although just 10 years later they would be vastly out of date. Still, it's worth seeing, and at 13 or so minutes, it moves along quite quickly.

Credits

Directed by
Otis Turner

Writers
L. Frank Baum
Otis Turner

Cast
Bebe Daniels...Dorothy Gale
Hobart Bosworth...Wizard of Oz and King
Eugenie Besserer...Aunt Em
Robert Z. Leonard...Scarecrow
Winifred Greenwood...Momba
Lillian Leighton...Union Enforcer
Olive Cox...Glinda the Good
Alvin Wyckoff
Marcia Moore

Produced by
William Nicholas Selig